


Emeralds Against the Stream

by vagrantBreath



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Partial amnesia, Self-Discovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2019-10-05 08:41:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 16,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17321684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vagrantBreath/pseuds/vagrantBreath
Summary: Then suffocate in painful torturesOn cutting tables of callous menUnder a knife of handsome butchersEmeralds are ripped awayJinjer,PiscesZero's... tired.Axl's... worried.X is... distracted.And the newly excavated SWN-001 wakes up.





	1. Chapter 1

The time between Maverick uprising and Sigma's return was incredibly boring, Zero decided.

It wasn't like there weren't still Mavericks; the cause of Maverickism was far more complex. The last one he had retired, in fact, had just gotten tired of being verbally abused (and once, assaulted) at his job by humans and took it out on the entire store. Zero had felt strange after that one, after seeing the retail Reploid screaming, clutching their hair and shouting "I didn't mean it! I just wanted to stop the humans! I didn't mean it!" But orders were orders, and Zero didn't need a higher-up telling him what sort of threat stood before him.

One swipe of the Z-Sabre was all it took.

After retiring combat models, it felt so strange to only need one attack and his target was down. Everything about it just felt… strange.

No moral questions rose in his mind. No questions of if what he was doing was right, or if there was another way to end it. That was X's domain. Zero fought and killed. And the Reploid he had retired was most certainly a threat. That was all.

But the feeling persisted as he headed to his room, his internal battery politely chirping a low energy warning. He would need to recharge very soon. Maybe by the time he woke from his recharge, the strange feeling would have left.

"Zero?"

A familiar youthful voice made him turn, the strange feeling inside him spiking as Axl ran up to him. Axl had obviously gone against his own Maverick, as the scorch marks on his armour showed. The younger Reploid had been _injured_ fighting a Maverick- well, that was expected. Even Zero came back from battles a little worse for wear.

Sometimes worse than that.

Zero pushed those facts aside.

"Hey, are you busy?" Axl asked, a little too calculated to be blithe, tucking his hands behind his head as he waited for an answer. When none came, Axl spoke up again. "You know, X is looking-"

"I'm running on 10% power," Zero interrupted. "Unless it's critical, it can wait."

"Man, was the Maverick that bad?"

No, but he hadn't had a proper recharge in a week. "Axl, state your intentions now, or go away."

"I'm not allowed to worry about my friends? Man, I never knew there were so many rules here."

Zero turned away. Axl wasn't saying anything important.

Only the fact his sensors were screaming Axl's name, reminding him Axl was _not_ a threat at the moment, kept him from ripping the Reploid's hand off as he touched Zero's shoulder. "You just looked weird, Zero. Look, X and I care about you, okay? If something's bothering you-"

Zero seized the hand on his shoulder, turning to look at Axl. He was quite aware the look on his face wasn't the glare he wanted, but it was hard and annoyed enough that Axl's swallowed. "I will speak with you and X after I recharge."

"Okay."

An even stranger feeling fell over Zero as he let Axl's hand go. Should he be doing something other than saying goodbye and leaving for his room? If that was the case, he had no frame of reference for it. The last time he had felt this way…

He pushed that to the side as well, nodding to Axl as he left. He'd be able to examine the entire encounter with Axl after he recharged.

Zero managed to get into the recharge tube on 3% power.

Then the hum pulled him down into unconsciousness.

  


* * *

  


Well, it wasn't another Dr. Cain finding X level of discovery, but Dr. Marquez didn't care. No one else had found this… strange building. She wiped her forehead, feeling hair plaster against her skin under the blistering sun. This was something big; she could just _feel_ it.

"Doctor."

"Go ahead," she said, pressing her hand against the receiver in her ear to hear the Reploid on the other end better. They had already done a scan of what laid under the layers of soil, and the mechanical diggers were still working to cut away such thick layers.

"This structure holds many traps and other things that would be lethal to a human. I recommend sending in Reploids."

She scrunched up her nose. Reploids didn't see the world like a human would. If it was that dangerous in there, she should let someone not squishy take care of it. But they would miss so much. Reploids focused on the wrong things.

"I'll go in with a Reploid guard," she announced.

"Dr. Indra Marquez." The Reploid's voice rang over the receiver, thrumming with disappointment. "I don't want to tell your supervisor why you're now crushed or impaled."

She turned around, trying to make out the camp. "It's that bad in there?"

If it was that dangerous, then maybe… had it been a training ground for the Reploid generation the Hunters X and Zero came from? The idea made her even more excited. She had to see what was inside. "How soon until excavation is done?"

"Doctor…"

"I won't go anywhere dangerous. But this could be the missing link between-"

"I'll write up the incident report," the Reploid sighed, interrupting her.

Marquez turned back to the dig site. Soon, she'd be in there, seeing the history within. Then, the diggers stopped, and she frowned, lifting her hand to her ear again. "What's going on?"

"The ground team sensed a body. Mechanical."

Without another word, Marquez grabbed the bag at her feet. Another like X and Zero, maybe? Even if she couldn't salvage it, just the fact it existed… and it might even have similar hardware they could reverse engineer into other Reploids! It was just obvious X and Zero were far more sophisticated than the others, so maybe this would help close that gulf.

Reploids were already working on excavating the body. She shooed them away, memories of one smashing a wall without realizing its own strength coming back to her. This would take a delicate hand, just in case the body under the soil was still able to be activated.

Soon, she saw the helmet, the peeling black fins pained on the inside with patches of yellow that might have been whole at some point. Slowly, the rest of the body was revealed: damaged, but someone who worked on Reploids should be able to reactivate it. Well, she thought, looking at the youthful face, probably 'him.' But considering Reploids weren't bound to the same gender rules as humans… this one could have been made to look like a teenage boy and not be male at all.

Honestly, she was just an archaeologist. That kind of question was better left to someone that wasn't her. She just wanted to know more about the past. Current day Reploid politics didn't interest her at all. So whatever gender this find happened to be wasn't something to be interested in.

But, she also admitted, she wouldn't mind knowing more about why it was found outside the building… and why it looked like it had been damaged not by the passage of time, but an actual battle.

Marquez turned, motioning to the Reploids around her to take the body.

… huh. Maybe this _could_ be a Dr. Cain level find!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had expected to take this week off from writing since Awesome Games Done Quick 2019 is going on and there are some amazing games being run.
> 
> And then my internet went down.
> 
> WELP.

"No, Indra, I don't know what 'SWN' stands for," Parades said, irritated as he looked up from his computer. "I don't even know what kind of coding this is. No one sane programs a Reploid like this. Hell, Indra…" He reached out, prodding the Reploid's damaged left arm. "With how old this thing is, you can probably call it a 'robot.'"

An annoyed noise escaped Marquez's throat. She was so certain they were close to a new breakthrough about the world that came before them. She had even entertained a fantasy that it held the secret to why Reploids went Maverick and how to stop that. Just… something more than this. "Okay… is there _anything_ you can find out about the Rep- robot's coding? Other than the person that coded it was possibly on something? Can you _activate_ it?"

Parades shook his head. "I'm not sure about that. Either of that. The coding, while bizarre, is almost clinically coded. There are no comments or anything like that in it. And it's been buried in dirt for who knows how long." Parades paused for a moment, typing furiously. "That's what I thought," he muttered. "The power source is completely unknown."

"So you can't activate it even if you wanted to," Marquez muttered, the realization draining her. This could have been the next big discovery and it was nothing but a hunk of useless metal. "I guess I should just ship it out to a museum or something."

"I didn't say that, Indra." Parades turned to her, his eyes bloodshot with exhaustion. Marquez felt a pang of guilt; how many sleepless nights had Parades pulled just to tell her that? "The power source is something we've never seen before, but that doesn't mean it's completely out of power. It means I don't know how to use it to activate it. But if we send it to someone skilled in ancient robots…"

"I'm not sending this to Dr. Cain," Marquez shot back tartly. "This is _my_ find."

"Indra."

Parades's disappointed voice made her sigh. "Look," she said, resisting the urge to rub her tired eyes and dislodge a contact lens. "We haven't had a find like this since Dr. Cain found X. And this helped his career immensely. Did you see the grants he got after that? I need something like that. So I don't need Dr. Cain taking _any_ of the credit. His name is already bigger than mine. Just the fact he'd be involved would completely overshadow what I've done. Art, _please_. Don't get Dr. Cain involved."

"How about this?" Parades leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. "I'll work on activating it for a week. If I can't get it activated by this time next week, I'll send it to Dr. Cain. What do you think?"

"How many other projects are you working on?"

"Just one. Ongoing Reploid hardware vs software problem they want me to work on."

"And when's that one due?"

Parades pointed to a calendar on the wall and the circle on it. "If it doesn't get pushed up, end of the month."

That would be a tight window to fit in trying to reactivate SWN-001. Marquez frowned, then sighed. "Damn it, Art."

"So I can send it to Dr. Cain?"

She waved a hand. "I don't have a choice, do I? Just bcc me on your emails and forward me his responses."

"Can do." Parades turned back to his computer, frowning. "Whatever this power source is," he muttered, almost to himself, "it's powerful. If its weapon systems were up to date, it would rival X and Zero."

Marquez blinked. "It has a weapon system?"

"From what I can tell, more than that. It looks like it has a place where it would combine with something else. Honestly, Indra, the more I look at this, the more I don't think SWN-001 should be reactivated. I can't tell what kind of personality it would have, if it had one. There's a pretty good possibility it might be hostile."

A powerful power source, weapons, and an unknown personality. But on the other hand, historical progress and possible further knowledge for Reploids. "We have to know," she finally said, the possibilities luring her in. "Contact Dr. Cain and bcc me on it."

Parades shook his head. "This is the worst thing you've ever asked me to do and I fixed your sink once," he commented as he pulled up his email.

The memory of Parades elbow deep in sludge came back to her, and she shuddered. "I still don't know how you were roped into that one."

He shrugged, typing. "You do stupid things for love. He made it up to me later."

Marquez fell silent for a moment, then patted her brother-in-law on the shoulder. "Make sure you get rest," she told him. "And that you go home sometime in the next 24 hours."

"You too."

His mouse clicked the 'Send' button.

  


* * *

  


Maverick retired.

Axl lifted the barrel of his guns to the ceiling, not yet taking his fingers off the triggers. When nothing else attacked him, he eased his index fingers towards the trigger guards, moving to put them away.

That had been difficult, he reflected, wincing as his alerts warned him of the damage to his right leg. Good thing the Maverick Hunters teleported their Hunters out. If he had still been with Red Alert, he would have had to escape on his own. For a moment, he considered not telling them he was done and for them to teleport him back. The teleport may not always work, and he would need to keep his skill sharp.

But he just didn't _want_ to. He wanted to get back to base, give his report, and curl up in bed.

Plus, he might get a better chance at seeing Zero again. The other Hunter had seemed so… Axl was hesitant to use the word 'sad' when talking about Zero, but something was weighing heavily on him. He wasn't going to admit it to anyone, not even X, but that didn't make him feel good. He hated seeing Zero so…

Yeah, 'sad' was the only word that fit.

Maybe he could find something Zero liked and cheer him up with it. Axl considered that as he sent the signal to teleport him back. But what did Zero like? What could he get Zero as a gift?

Maybe oil for his armour?

He wasn't sure.

He just… really wanted to make sure Zero would be okay.

Maybe it could just be Zero was bored. There were a lot less Mavericks than before. He could just want something to do. And yet… Axl had a feeling that wasn't it. There was something else. Something deeper.

Maybe related to his personal life? But what kind of personal life did Zero have? He and X were close, but as far as anyone knew, they were still on good terms. Axl didn't know anyone else other than himself and X that Zero hung out with. And even then, Zero didn't exactly 'hang out' with Axl.

Which Axl admitted, he wanted to change. Very badly.

Hm.

Was Zero… lonely? That didn't seem like Zero at all. But if he was… maybe Axl could make an effort to hang out with him. He knew he'd like that, and if Zero was lonely, that would help out.

And if Zero wasn't lonely, it would help Axl learn what _was_ up with him and fix it.

Also, he'd hang out with Zero. Which he really wanted to do.

… how in the world would he even ask Zero if he wanted to hang out and not get a death glare?


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a while since X had stepped into Dr. Cain's lab as an assistant rather than a Hunter. Other assistants milled about, working on various tasks, waving absently at X as he made his way through the lab. Some of that was X had been part of the team that made the original Reploids, but he had a feeling most of it was because scientists tended to get tunnel vision while working and just saw him as a passing familiar body. And, he reflected, he wasn't immune to tunnel vision either. So many times he had entered a forced recharge because he hadn't taken care of himself while creating the first run of Reploids.

And now Dr. Cain was asking for his help again as a roboticist and refused to give him details until he arrived. What had he found? X found himself hoping it was a key to Maverickism. The answer was more complex than a virus, as Reploids went Maverick before Sigma spread his virus. If X could just figure out the cause-!

"X, hello," Dr. Cain said warmly as the android entered the room. Behind him, X could make out a mechanical leg, the armour dented badly and the paint peeling. "How have things been?"

"Everything's fine." Curious, X walked up next to Dr. Cain, examining the body on the table. The body type looked incredibly dated, probably as old as X himself. Quickly, X took in the damage, noticing some of it looked like battle wounds. He looked at the Reploid's (Reploid? Considering how old they were, maybe android, like himself) face, taking in the youthful male appearance and the slightly angry look, as if they had been held in a rage before they were powered down. The body looked like it had been cleaned at some point, but he could still make out grains of soil stuck in their joints. "Who's this?"

"This, my dear, is a new find from a fellow archeologist." Dr. Cain patted the still shoulder. "She found him outside a newly found ruin. A coworker of hers contacted me about him, concerned about his age and power source and wondering what I can do."

X looked over the body again with this information in mind. There was a _lot_ of damage that looked like battle wounds. And yes, he couldn't tell what the power source was either. It didn't look solar, like his own, or even nuclear. But, X noted, it didn't seem like the power source was completely shut down. Even now, X could hear a slight thrum of power. Fascinated, X reached out, intent on looking for the serial number. "SWN-001?" he muttered when he found it, tracing the faded mark with a finger.

"Perhaps has something to do with our friend Zero?" Dr. Cain offered. "After all, his serial number is DWN-∞. With the "WN" in common, I can't help but think perhaps he's related to Zero."

Which would make this even more exciting. So much wasn't known about Zero. If they really were related to Zero in some way, they might figure out why… maybe, why Zero reacted to the virus the way he did.

"If you have time," Dr. Cain continued, "I would like to have your assistance in examining SWN-001."

X paused, reviewing his current duties. The reports of Mavericks had been rather low. Paperwork was always looming, but easy enough to take care of. Unless something happened, like Sigma coming back from the dead yet again, he would have the time. "Of course," X told him.

"Excellent."

  


* * *

  


Axl hadn't left yet.

Zero crossed his arms as he looked down in the training room, watching Axl run through yet another simulation. While normally Zero would have liked to see Axl so enthusiastic about training, this was a little excessive.

As the simulation ended, Zero entered the training room. "If you wish to have a challenge, all you had to do was ask X or myself," he told Axl.

Surprisingly, Axl jumped slightly. When he turned to Zero, he didn't look startled at all; in fact, he smiled and tucked his hands behind his head. But the fact Zero had taken him a little by surprise worried him. "Didn't see you around, so I figured I had to take matters into my own hands," he told him.

The words… made Zero grow quiet. He had been avoiding the others, more than usual anyway. But the strange mood that came over him made him not want to talk to anyone. Axl's face shuttered at Zero's silence, making the elder scramble for words. Anything to wipe that look from Axl's face. "I'm here now."

"Yeah." Axl lowered his hands, and a sense of failure filled Zero. He was pushing Axl away with his strange mood. He-

"So, would you like to grab an E-tank from the cafeteria or something?"

Zero blinked at the offer. Only X had offered to spend time together casually. And even then, X's offers didn't hold the same kind of charge Axl's did. X's offers had been casual; the feeling Zero had to respond to Axl's felt… desperate.

He had once overheard other Hunters placing bets on the relationship between himself and X growing past the deep friendship they had to something more romantic. While Zero couldn't deny an unshakable fondness for X, it felt… deeper than friendship or romance could explain. But what he was feeling for Axl at the moment, the strange mood over him making him _crave_ …

Axl's face closed off more as Zero continued not to answer. "Hey, I get it," he said, reaching out to pat Zero's shoulder. "I shouldn't be wasting any more time anyway. Things to do and-"

"Yes."

That made Axl pause. "Uh."

"I will accompany you to the cafeteria." The words fell awkwardly from his lips. Strange. The last time he had felt so off-centre was before-

The memory of Repliforce only made his core settle further in the strange feeling.

"I… okay." Axl smiled. "It should be quiet in there right now."

Strangely, smiling back made a wave of exhaustion fall over him.

That would pass.


	4. Chapter 4

"So what kind of things does Zero like?"

Axl's question broke into X's thoughts, and he blinked at the sudden question. "Are you looking for a gift for Zero?" It wasn't like Axl and Zero weren't friends, but that question came out of nowhere. Not to mention… Axl wasn't the type to want to give presents, and Zero wasn't the type to accept them unless he needed it. X had occasionally managed to get him to accept things Zero called 'worthless trinkets' and display them in his room instead of disposing of them, but he had more luck with- "He likes useful things." Like an E-tank after a long battle.

"Okay." Axl nodded. "So if I got him something for maybe his armour, then he'd like it?"

This line of questioning piqued X's curiosity. Axl was normally very eager to please anyway, but this seemed to be excessive. "Did you make Zero angry again?"

"What? No." Axl's body took on an almost defensive, but embarrassed stance. "I just want to do something nice for Zero."

For a moment, shame filled X. Was something wrong with Zero and he had been too distracted to notice? What a terrible friend he was. If something was wrong with Zero, then the gift shouldn't be from Axl alone. In fact, X reflected, maybe he should do something nice for Zero himself. Dinner? Zero didn't usually like to spend time ingesting an E-tank, but he did like X and Axl's company.

But then a protocol piped up, reminding him he would be late to Dr. Cain's lab and working on SWN-001 if he didn't end the conversation soon. He didn't like it, but he had promised to help Dr. Cain with this. "Can we talk about this later?" he asked apologetically. "I'm needed elsewhere."

"Yeah." Axl nodded, just a shade too fast to just be acknowledging. "Yeah."

Huh. Axl seemed a little wound tight about this idea. X reached out, taking his shoulder. "If something's wrong with Zero, we'll help him," he promised. "Okay?"

"Yeah."

X let go of his shoulder regretfully; Axl still didn't seem at ease or even cheered up, and while X wanted to help both of them, he was needed elsewhere. "I'll see you later."

Axl nodded, waving as he left.

Hopefully he could finish up with SWN-001 soon and help them faster.

  


* * *

  


_"Treble! Get out of-"_

_Surge of power. Buster shorting out. A growl by his side, followed by a hard shove-_

Fingers twitched.

_Rewind._

_"Treble! Get out of-"_

_Surge of power. Buster shorting out. A growl by his side, followed by a hard shove-_

Fingers twitched again, and again.

_Rewind._

_"Treble!"_

Arm swung upward sharply, power surging through it, painting the world in green-

Red eyes blipped on, and awareness returned to them.

And bits of the ceiling fell, damaged.

Red eyes blinked, then a hand reached out. "Treble?"

Vocal synthesizer broke, filling with static. Unused for too long. The outstretched hand swung, searching for…

For what?

"Treble?"

Who was Treble?

That was a fucking stupid question. Treble was important. Treble was…

Where was Treble?

"Treble!"

_Buster shorting out. A growl._

Where was Treble?!

  


* * *

  


Chaos reigned as X dashed into the lab, an alarm in his messages forcing his steps quick.

While he was used to a mild amount of chaos, as humans were prone to doing more than they should and scrambling to catch up, the alarms and smoke billowing through the air made him bend down by a fallen roboticist. "What happened?" he asked him, helping the man up.

The man looked at X, his eyes not quite focusing as blood ran from a cut on his temple. "SWN-001 woke up."

X looked around. SWN-001 hadn't looked like they could cause _this_ much damage. A lot has been repaired, but they still shouldn't have been able to do something like this. "Where is SWN-001?"

"I don't know." The man blinked a few times. "I heard him yelling about a treble."

Treble? X made a note to look up anything regarding a treble as his own memory banks first came back with musical definitions. He doubled that would relate to a berserk, possibly Maverick robot. "Get to safety," he urged. As the man left, he instantly pinged Alia as he started moving through the lab. Dr. Cain wasn't supposed to be in the lab today, so he would be safe. There might be other humans in the lab that needed help, though, so he let the ping to Alia ring as he examined the lab.

X had just helped a woman out the door when he heard _"X, report"_ in Alia's calm, simple voice.

 _"There's been an attack at Cain Labs,"_ he said quickly, still moving through the lab. _"Many humans have been injured. Requesting human emergency services."_

_"Emergency services dispatched. I'm also sending a Hunter unit to Cain Labs. Who is the Maverick?"_

X quickly described SWN-001, and Alia fell quiet for a moment. _"They're a project Cain Labs was working on for another archeologist,"_ X quickly explained, peeking into another room, empty this time. _"We didn't expect them to reactivate."_

_"Clearly. I'll let the Sixth Unit know."_

The channel closed as X continued through the lab to the room they had kept SWN-001. And when he entered…

The room was utterly destroyed, electronics still sparking and threatening to burst into flames.

And SWN-001 was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

Targets destroyed.

Zero lowered his sabre as his systems scanned the training deck and came back with the same answer: All targets were destroyed. For a moment, he considered loading a new mission, but a quick look at his energy levels changed his mind. If he started a new mission, he would be putting himself at an unnecessary disadvantage. Refuelling would be in his best interests.

And if he went to refuel, maybe he would see X. Or Axl.

A strange warmth filtered through his chest at the thought, and Zero quickly checked his cooling systems to make sure they were working correctly. When the check came back green, Zero frowned. He wasn't in danger of overheating, but this didn't seem normal.

No matter. Zero turned, heading towards the cafeteria. He'd have an E-tank and start on his other duties for the night. Zeroth Unit was scheduled for patrol tonight, so he would need to-

"Zero?"

"Axl?" he said curiously as he turned. The young Reploid looked a little… nervous. He hid it well. Perhaps too well, Zero thought. Most Reploids wouldn't be able to tell, but Zero could see the edges of the well worn mask as he stood there, a wrapped package in his hands. "Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? Nah." Zero watched him shift his weight ever so slightly. "I- here." Axl shoved the package at Zero. "Thought of you when I saw this."

Zero took the package, opening it. Then, confused, he turned the canister around. "Oil?"

"For your armour," Axl told him, a touch fast. "You know, to protect it."

"I see," Zero murmured, the warmth settling into his core again. Then…

The warmth grew heavy as he remembered another face like that, only far more open. Zero lowered his hands at the memory of Iris's gentle eyes, kind until the end. "Thank you," he finally said, his voice neutral, holding back what he was feeling.

Axl frowned. "Is everything okay?"

Huh. He must have not kept everything behind the mask. "I'm fine. I am due to meet the Zeroth's Unit for patrol in half an hour."

"Oh."

Why did he have this ache in his chest at how Axl said that one, single word? Something had to be wrong with him. "I should go."

Axl opened his mouth, then both of them paused as an alert popped up for both of them. Zero quickly read through it, the warmth in his core dissipating almost immediately. Cain Labs. An explosion. X already on the scene. Cain Labs was too close to waste a teleport on, so- Zero didn't even say a word as he spun on his heel, engaging his thrusters. He heard Axl close behind, the two of them zipping through the base as the other Hunters around them absently moved out of their way, used to units mobilizing just as they were. Most likely, Zero thought absently as they exited the building, the Seventeenth Unit was already on their way.

His hand clenched.

Oh right, he was holding a bottle of oil. A now burst bottle of oil, dripping over his hand.

He'd… have to apologize to Axl later.

Even if the warmth had turned cold, the heaviness still weighed.

  


* * *

  


He wasn't going to stop. He needed-

Where was he, anyway? He didn't recognize any of this. Or… anything, really. He could remember someone (Treble?) shoving him as his buster shorted out. Did that mean he had been in the middle of a fight? He couldn't remember.

His systems remembered his buster. And it was still broken. But he remembered green. Was that green, that power not his buster? He pressed a hand to his chest, groaning at the damaged pings. Damn, he wished he remembered.

And Treble. Where was Treble? What happened to Treble?

… _who_ was Treble? Why was Treble so important to him?

Someone grabbed him, speaking.

And he grabbed their neck.

And let the smile crawl across his face.

  


* * *

  


X fell silent, his report falling between the three of them. Axl took the moment to cross one foot behind the other, his hand to his mouth, frowning in thought. Zero only looked over the damage, then back at X. "SWN-001."

Something accusatory in Zero's voice made X wince. "Yes. It's possible SWN-001 has your creator."

"Also possible that they don't," Axl pointed out, lowering his hand. "We don't know what SWN or DWN mean. 'WN' could just be some kind of designation for anyone made during your time. X, what's your serial number?"

X shook his head. "It doesn't have 'WN' in it."

"Still. SWN-001 - man, we really need to have a name for them." Axl rubbed the back of his head. "Well, SWN-001 might just be really old. And if that's the case, we shouldn't have problems retiring them again."

Zero cast another look around. "We should be careful," he finally said. "This kind of destruction… look at it. It's not from a buster. I have no frame of reference where this might be from."

"That's right." X nodded. "SWN-001's buster is offline, but they obviously have some sort of auxiliary damage source. Also… they're looking for a 'Treble.'"

"Treble…"

"That mean anything to you, Zero?" Axl asked.

Zero shook his head. "We should check our records for anything related to 'Treble.' From my quick search-"

"What comes up immediately are music terms, right?" X supplied. "Same here."

"It might be enough to shed light on who SWN-001 is," Zero told him. "Axl."

"Yup, that's me."

"You have contacts we don't have. Do you think you can contact them?"

Axl shrugged. "A lot of them might not talk to me now that I'm working with you guys. But yeah. I can dig around. Been a while since I cracked a few heads."

X winced, putting a hand to his head. "Please tell me you actually get information without violence and that's just you being you."

"Whatever helps you recharge at night."

X groaned. "Don't make me have to write up an incident report, Axl."

"Considering they're on the grey side of shady, I doubt you'll even know."

Zero shook his head. "It'll do us good to have less than reputable contacts, X. And Axl has been working with them for a while. He knows how to make them give him what he's looking for. I wouldn't worry much about it."

With a sigh, X finally relented. "We need the information, Axl. Contact your sources."

"Great."

X didn't like Axl's smile.

But they didn't have a choice.

Who _was_ SWN-001…?


	6. Chapter 6

Nothing made sense. X went over the scans both Cain Labs and one Dr. Arturo Parades, trying to see why SWN-001 would have woken up and if there was any information on their memory banks about what they're looking for. "Treble" on its own made no sense, though X was pretty certain it had to be a person or another robot. When he had reviewed the footage from Cain Labs when SWN-001 had escaped, they had been shouting for 'treble' as if someone would show up.

And on top of all of that, X couldn't figure out just _how_ SWN-001 woke up. Their power source hadn't been working well enough to reactivate them. X couldn't even figure out what the power source was. It wasn't solar, that's for certain. Or even nuclear. It was almost as if their creator had either found or created something… not natural.

X flipped to the footage again, pausing as SWN-001 became bathed in green fire, and frowned. SWN-001's buster had been broken. So that wasn't them charging up a buster shot. Then, what was it? Was _that_ SWN-001's power source reactivating?

Something settled in X's core, heavy and sad. SWN-001 woke up alone, in a place they didn't recognize, without someone important to them. There hadn't even been anyone in the room to explain things to them. He should have been there.

But the past was in the past, and he had to find SWN-001. They had to be confused. If he could just find them, explain things, help them find 'treble'…

_"Hey. X."_

Axl's voice shook through his systems, pulling him out of his thoughts with a jump. _"Yes?"_

_"You know we're probably going to have to retire SWN-001, right? When they woke up, they destroyed the lab."_

And there it was. Reality. X put a hand to his head, closing his eyes. _"I know. But SWN-001 was reactivated without anyone around. If I can just-"_

_"You know if something happens to you, Zero gets really quiet, right?"_

Zero would never admit it, but X knew. He had seen it. _"He gets the same when you're in Medical."_ X sighed, standing. _"But I don't want to retire someone who's just confused. Who isn't a Maverick."_

_"Fine."_

_"Have you gotten in contact with any of your… sources?"_

_"Waiting for one now."_

Somehow, X didn't like how Axl phrased that. It was just a little too… _"If I have to write up an incident report, you're not going out on missions for six months."_

_"You won't. Trust me."_

And again, somehow, X liked that even less.

  


* * *

  


Reploid beer was absolutely disgusting. The harshest and dirtiest crude oil was used, only because it was the only thing that could house the nanites they used. Purer liquids were too easily broken down. As a result, it was the worst thing a Reploid could put in their body. Even worse than actual human beer.

As he paid for the beer, Roc didn't care.

At least his life couldn't get any worse, he reasoned. Yeah, he might be in danger of losing his construction job after haphazardly putting a wall together and an entire floor collapsing because of how shoddy it had been built, his girlfriend might have run off with another girl, and he was down to his last few zenny, but at least there wasn't anything else to make it worse.

With a sigh, as he waited for the public transit, Roc cracked the beer open. He lifted the can to his lips, preparing himself for the first sip.

"Heya, Roc."

"Fuck!" The can fell, splattering across the ground as Roc whipped around, his core speeding up with a whirr. "Axl, hey…"

With a grin, Axl threw an arm around Roc's shoulders. "Is that any way to talk to an old friend?"

It didn't escape Roc's notice that Axl was holding something behind his back. And was leading him away from the road. "The last time you wanted to talk to me as a 'friend,' I spent six months fixing my jaw and getting it realigned."

"Sorry." Axl's grin spread wider. "You know how Red Alert was."

"And they're not around anymore. So I don't know-"

Axl's arm suddenly wrapped around his throat, almost warning him. "You know a lot of things," he said, conversationally. "Lapin told me a lot of interesting things about who you're still in contact with."

Roc felt his core ice over. "Lapin doesn't know shit."

"Look, just answer a few questions and you might even get out of this without needing many repairs." A clang caught Roc's attention, and he looked down to see Axl absently tapping a pipe against his leg. "So! Question one…"

  


* * *

  


Zero crossed his arms. "That's all your source knew?"

Axl shrugged. "Considering SWN-001 is a new discovery and we don't know what they meant by 'treble'? That's a lot."

A scrapped Reploid and rumours that a Reploid matching SWN-001's description nearby. It surprised Zero he didn't know about the scrapped Reploid, but considering what Axl had said about them, he supposed no one would care to report a dead addict, considering any manner of low life could have scrapped them. What did bother Zero, however, was the fact SWN-001 was capable of doing so without their buster. "Was there any other information about SWN-001? Where they were going?"

"Sorry. But my source did say something interesting: the guy who saw SWN-001 coming out of that alley said he noticed SWN-001 holding their hand out while yelling for 'treble,' like calling some kind of animal or something."

"So 'treble' is most likely SWN-001's pet," Zero said, thinking aloud.

"Or is some kind of Animaloid."

That… could be something. A robot around Zero and X's age with a pet or animal partner. He wasn't sure what it would be, but it could be something to work with. "Good job, Axl."

Axl grinned. "Thanks, Zero."

The silence that fell between them pulled at the heavy feeling in Zero's torso, wanting him to do something-

"So, uh…" Axl scratched the back of his head. "I'm low on energy now. You uh… want to grab an E-tank? Together?"

An E-tank, with Axl…

Zero almost agreed.

"The both of us should continue looking for SWN-001," he said instead. "If this is true, SWN-001 is capable of killing, and we should work to find them before they're labeled Maverick."

"Yeah, yeah." Axl nodded. "Well, I'll keep an ear on the rougher sectors. Sounds like SWN-001's hiding with the other homeless there anyway."

Zero nodded.

Then-

"Make sure you fuel up before leaving."

He… didn't want to see Axl hurt. Low energy would put him at risk of making a mistake. And he-

He couldn't see Axl hurt.


	7. Chapter 7

The need to find Treble still burned in the back of his mind. And at the same time… why did he need to find Treble so badly? With a slight growl, he curled up further in the corner, taking the quiet moment to poke at his memory banks. Faces came to mind, along with emotion: a youthful face, surrounded in blue, bringing with it hatred and anger. A face surrounded in red, eyes covered, annoyance coming with the thought. He could hear an impression of an older man's voice, thick with an accent, but no words or even a face. With a frown, he poked deeper. There was a hint to what his directive was buried in there, but he couldn't make it out.

And Treble…

As he tried to review his memory for Treble, he could hear a growl. A nose in his hand. The feeling of being _complete_ , that the upgrade he stole was _meant_ for him and Treble-

"Augh!" He kicked out, a rock flying, bouncing, then falling still.

He needed to find Treble! He was incomplete without Treble, just…

Wait.

What- what was his name?

He could hear various voices saying his name, but he couldn't _hear_ it. None of those voices made any sense. It was… his name was…

With those thoughts, he crawled to his feet, his left leg seizing briefly. But that didn't matter. He didn't know who he was.

He didn't _know_ who Treble was! Why, without Treble, he felt incomplete! He didn't-

A scientist. Like the old man voice. They'd be able to fix him up, make it so he'd know who Treble was. Where Treble went. Hell, who _he_ was. He lifted his arm, morphing to a buster and wincing at the motion. The buster was still nonfunctional and it hurt to even bring it out. But it still looked intimidating. And that's all he needed.

The other robots around would help him. He'd make them.

Or else.

  


* * *

  


It was too late for this. Bones pulled himself upright, taking his charging cable from its port as the banging continued on his door. It had been too long of a day. Literal graveyard shift drained him like nothing else. Why did humans bury their dead again? Whoever it was would just have to wait until tomorrow. He stopped at the door, turning slightly so one aural cone was closer than the other. "Yes?"

More knocking, hard enough to make the metal door shudder hard. Bones reached to one side, searching, just as the door slammed open, a… very young looking Reploid barging in, buster held to the fore.

A very illegal buster, Bones noticed as his hand swept for the plasma cutter he knew just _had to be nearby_. It didn't look anything like the aftermarket ones he had seen. Which meant it was new. Which meant no one outside of the Maverick Hunters should have even seen it. Which made it very, very illegal.

The Reploid grabbed him with their opposite hand, shoving the blaster in his face. "Hiya, Doc. You're going to help me."

Bones froze, knowing any aggression shown to someone threatening him would end poorly. Particularly to one who knew his _other_ profession. "And what makes you think I can be the one to help you?"

"Well…" A very sinister smile had settled on the Reploid's face. "When I beat it out of this broken down bot where I could find a doc to help me, your name came up. So, guess what. You're helping me now."

There were a lot of things about what they just said that needed addressing, and Bones didn't have any leverage to ask about it. "I ask again, what makes you think I can help you?"

"Don't play dumb!" The buster pressed hard against his cheek. "You know how insides work. How memory banks, all that fucking shit works. So open your programs and get to work." They ground their buster against his face. "Or do I need to shoot you first?"

The last time a patient had gotten violent with him, it took near 600,000 zenny just to get back in order enough to work, and that was with him doing all the repairs. And this one didn't seem like they could pay for his work.

Of all the times to work in a less than legal field. He would love to be able to call the Maverick Hunters on this Reploid, which truly did seem like had slipped to Maverick status, and not be arrested for practicing medicine without a license. "Fine. Just get that thing out of my face."

The Reploid let him go, but didn't lower his buster. "No, I think I like it right where it is. Get to work."

Bones gave the Reploid a quick external scan, taking note of how they stood (favouring one leg), the peeling paint job, and various signs of damage. If they wanted him to fix all of it, he could just touch the leg. He didn't work on paint jobs.

"I need to see your ports," he told the Reploid as he reached for cables and his data pad, noticing the buster following his movements. "And then I'll get to work."

He had just wanted a nice recharge…

It didn't take much to plug everything in and pull it up on the data pad. But, once everything came up, he froze. He had never seen anything like it. The coding, everything… was just _off_. This Reploid had Asimov's three laws! No Reploid had that. It was… a robot's coding. _Ancient_ coding. And the power source was nothing like he had seen before. He noticed distantly that the buster that had been shoved in his face seemed non-functional, but it also seemed like that didn't matter since the energy building in the buster wasn't normal.

But he wasn't being threatened to fix the buster or the energy source. The… robot? They couldn't be a Reploid. Not with such strict coding. Then the robot wanted his memory looked at. Bones loaded it up…

And blanched.

Massive failure in several sections. The data would have been completely wiped. The robot must have been injured far more than this at some point in the past, and the resulting energy surges wiped several memory banks.

"Well?" the robot snapped.

"I can try to see if I can recover it, but you suffered massive hard drive failure. Several memory banks have been completely wiped clean."

"Then do it!"

As the program ran, Bones closed his eyes. He knew what would come up. It would fail. The memories were gone.

Oh, he wasn't getting out of this one unscathed, was he?


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, this wasn't good. Axl crossed his arms, taking in the sight before him. One good thing about having shady contacts: sometimes they would call him in knowing he was technically part of the Maverick Hunters, but knew he wouldn't arrest them for something like being high on whatever latest corrupted program came out or, in this case, practicing medicine without a license for other Reploids who couldn't get medical help themselves without getting arrested and probably labeled a Maverick. Which is why he was now standing in the home of one Bones, known as "Doc" on the streets. As for Bones himself…

Well, it would take a while and a lot of zenny, but he'd survive.

"What the hell," Axl muttered, noticing a data pad off to one side. It was cracked, non-functional, but that didn't mean he couldn't get anything off of it. He'd probably have to take it in and let a pro look at it, but most likely, the hard drive still worked and they could read the last thing on it. Not that it wouldn't tell them something they didn't already know: SWN-001 had been here. His source had told him she saw a Reploid matching SWN-001's description leaving before she peeked in and saw Bones, a melted hole through his energy tank. Axl saved a note to wire Bones some zenny as he looked around.

According to X, SWN-001's buster was completely offline. So how did they manage this? Axl made his way over to one scorched wall, kneeling. His eyes refocused, zooming in on the scorch marks, studying it as he recorded. He didn't see anything weird about it, but that didn't mean someone in Forensics wouldn't.

Man, at first, it had been kind of fun to go to old stomping grounds and percussively demand answers (extra fun when he got to use a copy shot and be someone else), but now, he just wanted this over with. SWN-001 was definitely a Maverick by this point, and he just wanted to retire them and get it over with. It… kind of hurt to start slipping that far back into the Red Alert days.

He walked over to Bones, snapping a few pictures of the wound. Again, meant nothing to him, but that didn't mean it wouldn't mean something to someone else. When he was done, he stretched, feeling his joints squeak in protest. He needed a recharge. Badly. But… if he didn't get this information to the Hunters soon, SWN-001 would have more time to do more damage. It wouldn't take a very long time to download all this, but it was still something keeping him from his recharge tube.

Not that he didn't trust the Maverick Hunters, but if he teleported out here, it would keep the location as a reference point and anytime something less than savoury happened here… he couldn't do that to Bones. Reploids like drug addicts or even petty criminals who got in over their heads needed a place to go and receive medical treatment without worrying about being arrested. X and Zero might have seen it differently, but they hadn't spent the time in the rougher sectors as he had.

So instead, Axl made his way out on foot. As he left, he kept an eye around him, looking for any hint. Anything at all. Of SWN-001.

He knew X wanted to talk them down but Axl couldn't wait to retire them. Just so he could stop slipping into being _that person_ again.

  


* * *

  


Okay, so he _kind of_ remembered what the green fire was. Something about him and his power source. So there was that. But the Doc hadn't been able to help him at all. Everything important was lost to him. The faces and voices he could kind of remember? Nothing compared to losing what felt like his other half and his own _fucking name._

And where the hell was he? Nothing looked familiar. And a whole lot more robots than he- kind of remembered. Of course, he couldn't _actually_ remember how many robots there had been. He could just be wrong and this had always been the way it was.

Didn't feel like it, though.

So what did he remember? Exactly? Those faces and voices, of course. What felt like his last memory before deactivating, including him telling Treble to run.

 _Huh._ He had told Treble to run. But what if Treble hadn't and was back… wherever they had been? He knew he couldn't have been deactivated in a lab. Not with that memory. But the question was, where had he been found? Who had found him?

Well, no matter what, he would need to go somewhere else. Even he could tell the robots around him were just barely getting by. Worthless. He needed to go somewhere _better_. Back to the lab he woke up in would probably be ideal, but his buster still wasn't working and his left leg was getting worse. If anyone (that boy in blue, winning like usual when he was _better_ than that twerp) tried to stop him, he'd be totally up shit creek.

But he had that green fire that melted holes like nothing else. If he really needed to, he could use that. And really, other than that boy in blue, who could stop him? He was the best.

Plus, most of the people at the lab were human. Even better.

Yeah. He couldn't actually _harm_ a human, but threatening one? Oh yeah, he could do that.

Now, where was that lab…?

  


* * *

  


"Axl?"

Zero hadn't expected this. He had only stopped by the cafeteria to grab a quick E-tank before going off to his other duties. Seeing Axl sitting there, alone, staring almost unseeingly at his own E-tank… Zero sat down across from him, noting with worry how Axl jumped.

"Hey." Axl smiled at him. "Sorry. Must be more exhausted than I thought."

"If you need a recharge, you should be in your room."

"Not something a recharge will help," Axl muttered, just barely loud enough for Zero to hear. "I'm fine," he reassured Zero, taking a sip of the E-tank.

A recharge wouldn't help? He had seemed so eager to help with his sources when this all started, and now- "Axl, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"No, it's not."

Axl sighed, lifting the E-tank to his lips again. "Sometimes I wish Reploid liquor actually tasted decent," he muttered as he lowered the can. "Being Red Alert Axl for too long is just…"

Oh. "We have enough information," Zero told him. "We no longer require your sources."

"One, big fucking lie. Two…" Axl laughed bitterly. "Man, I thought you looked all sad and here you are comforting me for just being me."

Zero blinked. Axl thought he had looked sad? "Your wellbeing is important to me."

Axl fell silent and still, only the whirr of his gears letting Zero know he hadn't powered down. "You know, if SWN-001 wasn't out there, I would be asking you out to… I don't know. Walk in the park. I don't know. But now there's a Maverick we can't find out there and we both have to be ready to be deployed at any time and-" Axl took another pull from the E-tank.

"You will be of no use if you continue to worry like this," Zero told him. "You need a proper recharge." But before he could say more, an alert came up, making both of them stiffen.

Explosion at Cain Labs.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I'm just going to try FFXIV. MMOs aren't really my thing, so I probably won't be too invested," I say.
> 
> "Huh, maybe I should write," I say as I look up from my level 14 Arcanist a week later.

He might have… rushed into things.

Yeah, he had this great idea of making the humans tell him where he was found but now… geez, those were some angry robots pointing some very fancy busters at him. And his own buster was still on the fritz. Yeah…

He rushed into things.

At least the explosion wasn't his fault. One of those fancy busters had hit something volatile and boom, at least one human hurt. He wouldn't have known any humans would be hurt until the smoke cleared from the idiot's bad aim. So not his fault. And hey, it gave him an extra reason to be particularly nasty.

Strange, though. Robots couldn't hurt humans. Something about… someone programming that in and that old man… something about the old man. Though, even without his memories, he could figure out it probably had to do with the old man and the other person, and it wasn't good things. If the old man had built him, then he probably was pretty far on the asshole scale.

Whatever. He wasn't there to worry about some random old man or why these robots were really different from him. He wanted to know where he had been found so he could find Treble. Nothing else mattered. He wanted to feel complete again, so he could-

Fulfil his directive.

Whatever _that_ might be.

Until then, he had to keep from being scrapped by these fancy robots. Who… huh. Their designed were familiar but not. Like they were based on something familiar, but someone else had made them. Well, if labs like these were everywhere now, then of course. There were more people making them. But at the same time…

He didn't understand why a part of him had thrown up the red alerts.

Whatever. He raised his buster, grinning. Time for the green fire.

  


* * *

  


Tenth and Seventeenth Units had been dispatched for a disturbance at Cain Labs. Only the Tenth had been dispatched at first, but when the explosion had occurred, X's unit had been sent along with alerting the three of them. Zero didn't really understand until the image of the Maverick was sent to them. It was the same Reploid- no. Robot that X had shown them before.

SWN-001.

Why was SWN-001 _back_? What was going on? Why had SWN-001 gone completely Maverick?

The strange feeling settled within him again.

Axl, on the other hand, only looked more determined as they zipped along to Cain Labs. "So they're back," he muttered. "Can't be too smart if they're returning here."

He probably wasn't wrong, Zero thought. SWN-001 had been incredibly destructive escaping, and now they were back? They had to know the Hunters would be there, immediately. If not the Maverick Hunters, then someone ready to take them down. But they had just come right back. Why?

For some reason, he found himself hoping X was already on the scene.

Something… felt off.

Zero looked over at Axl, wondering if he felt the same thing. "Something doesn't feel right about this," he told Axl. "Do you think-?"

"If it's Sigma, then this is the weirdest way to go about it," Axl told him. "I've seen the records. He usually has a bigger force than this."

He wasn't wrong. Even with the mess with Lumine, there had still been more Mavericks than just one ancient and half scrapped robot. So, then, why was SWN-001 acting this way?

Zero pressed his hand to his chest as they dashed, as if he could sink into the heavy feeling and rip it apart. Of course he couldn't, but he couldn't help himself.

He didn't understand.

  


* * *

  


Green fire.

X paused as a bolt of fire rushed past him, and he raised his buster, trying to see past the hazy dust in the air. He could see the Seventeenth Unit withdrawing upon seeing him, certain he could take care of it. Not the worst idea; this was far beyond their pay grade. X hadn't seen a Maverick use green fire before, and something about it he had felt as it rushed by had been… off. Like the source wasn't a normal flame source.

When the dust started cleared, the outline of SWN-001 revealed itself. X could make out the faded and peeling yellow as the dust settled more, and the way the face turned to him.

And he could see SWN-001's body language change as they made X out.

"YOU!" The snarl echoed through the room, equal parts hateful and annoyed. "You're not going to best me again. You're not going to win again!"

X blinked. That was… strange. He had never met SWN-001 while they were active until now. Were they remembering someone from their past? "I know you must be confused," X started, keeping his buster on SWN-001's form. "If I can just explain-"

"You're not going to explain anything!" Another plume of green fire rushed at X, and he was forced to dodge it, keeping his eyes on SWN-001 the entire time. "Always the little goody two shoes. This time, I'm going to come out on top!"

Something about SWN-001's words… they sounded _desperate._ Almost like it wasn't SWN-001 wanting it, but- it was true they were old, probably as old as X and Zero themselves. It might be… a directive they couldn't escape. "You don't need to fight," X tried to explain, his voice still patient. "I know how confusing it is to wake up in a new time and not know where you are."

The dust had settled enough for X to see SWN-001's buster shaking slightly. "I don't care," he heard SWN-001 grit out. "A boy in blue always beats me, and I don't know where Treble is. At least I can fix one of those things. I can finally come out on top!"

"We've heard you talk about Treble before? Who is that?"

The shaking worsened. "Treble is… Treble. I need to find-"

"SWN-001-"

"That's not my name!" they roared.

"Then what is your name?"

"I-" Fury crossed SWN-001's face, replacing the determined frustration. "Does it matter if I don't remember? When I find Treble, I'll remember everything! I-"

SWN-001 fell silent.

And Zero strode forward from behind X, sabre in hand.


	10. Chapter 10

That robot. That long haired girly- He knew this robot. He had seen the specs for this robot before. What this robot was, what this robot represented-

If he fought this robot, he'd lose.

He really didn't care, though. Nothing mattered until he found Treble. If he had Treble, he could beat this robot. Maybe. Probably not. But he'd have a better chance. And he had to fight this robot. He had to win.

But first, he had to get away from this robot and the blue- The blue one didn't quite look like the robot in his memory. But the resemblance was close enough that he knew. He _knew_ they were the same. They-

He jumped back, holding his ruined buster to the fore as the girly robot stepped forward. His eyes fell to the sabre in his grasp, knowing it wouldn't take much for that blade to rip him apart. If he wanted to find Treble, he'd have to retreat. But _screw that._ He didn't retreat.

And he didn't need anyone helping him! The blue one had put a hand on the other robot, as if to calm him, and he didn't need anyone helping him out! If his buster was working he would be firing on both of them right now. He still had the green fire (even though he was starting to feel… a little tired), but that took time to charge. Regular buster shots would be enough. But if he had to use the green fire-

"Don't, Zero," he heard the one in blue tell the other robot quietly. "They're… they don't even have all their memories. They don't even remember their name."

"It doesn't matter." He jumped slightly, his own thoughts coming from the robot's (Zero?) vocal box. "They're Maverick. We're Maverick Hunters."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" he roared.

Zero looked at him, his absolute lack of sympathy contrasting sharply with the one in blue's openness. "X. Stand aside."

He opened his mouth, ready to snap at them again, when something hit him. The feeling surged through him, static filling his brain as painful electrical impulses fired. When his thoughts finally came back to him, he was laying on the ground. And smoking slightly. He could smell the scent of burnt steel.

"You didn't finish the job, Axl."

"Something's not right," came a young sounding voice. "Most Mavericks I've met don't have any problems destroying everything, including humans. There aren't any human casualties, despite this idiot showing up first."

"You've seen what they've done to other Reploids. It doesn't matter. That alone puts them as a Maverick."

"Yeah, I agree with you," the younger one said as he sat up, still getting his bearings. "Totally Maverick. But they're _weird_ Maverick, and honestly, I'd like to know if this has anything to do with Sigma before we retire them."

He needed to get away. But if he stood, Zero would kill him. Plain and simple. Which was wrong, because _he_ was the strongest, not Zero. But, Zero had all his weapons functioning. He did not. So he had to get away. But… how? Quickly, he poked at his patchy memory and ran an internal check.

"We can check that once they're retired."

Oh come on!

But he looked up at Zero walking closer. He had to-

Oh. Oh _yes_. That would work.

Zero started his swing.

  


* * *

  


"Damn it!" Zero cursed as the robot engaged a teleport and disappeared, his sabre slicing through the air left behind. "Axl, this is your fault."

He couldn't stop the heavy feeling weighing down his middle at the way Axl's face darkened at his words. "Hell no," he snapped at him. "This is actually great. Come on. You're telling me the Maverick Hunters can't track an unsecured teleport?"

"And run straight into whatever trap's waiting for us?"

"You told me they were found deactivated until a bunch of dirt!" Axl made a gesture, and Zero wasn't sure it was meant to illustrate his words, or to express his anger. "Most likely, there isn't a trap! They probably grabbed the first coordinates they still had and probably where they are now will tell us who they are and who Treble is. Hell, we might even find Treble. This is great!"

Zero scoffed. "And if this is actually Sigma behind this? We're going straight to him if we follow."

"And if it's Sigma? Zero, if it is, we're going to break in on ground floor. Sigma hasn't gathered his usual army of Reploids. It's just one guy. We'd totally take him by surprise!"

"Axl."

"You know what?" Axl shook his head. "While you're going to sit here and whine about how we let them get away, I'm going to go follow them. See why they went Maverick and why it's so weird. See if it has anything to do with Sigma, or- anything!"

Zero narrowed his eyes, but didn't stop Axl as he left. The heavy feeling inside him knotted further, but he didn't say anything. Not even to X as the other came up to him.

"Axl's right," X told him quietly. "At least in the fact we need to follow SWN-001."

"You could have retired them before we even arrived," Zero accused, turning to X. "This could have been ended already."

"I know. I- Zero." X put a hand to his head. "Waking up, not knowing where or when you are- at least I had Dr. Cain to help me. And you- you were Maverick yourself. And we could help you. SWN-001 woke up alone, in a lab, and all we want to do is retire them. I had to at least try to help them."

Zero didn't say anything for several seconds, then turned away.

The heavy feeling in his midsection didn't ease the entire way back to base.


	11. Chapter 11

Where… was he?

Of course, it felt familiar. Of course it would. It was in his coordinates. But like everything else, he couldn't tell _why_ it was important. It didn't help that there was very, very little light and his optics had decided to malfunction, making it difficult to navigate. And he had a feeling if he tried to adjust them, they'd finally break for good.

So he moved in the darkness. It didn't seem to matter much anyway, since his motor functions remembered this place, even if his conscious memory didn't. Without realizing it, he leapt across something and latched onto a ledge, pulling himself up quickly before more of it crumbled away and didn't land, the pieces falling into a bottomless pit. He hadn't even seen the pit. And when his feet stopped him from stepping into a spike…

He had been there. Several times. A lot of the platforms had stopped working or had outright been destroyed, but he had been there.

Next question was, where _was_ he? The winding hallways filled with traps told him it wasn't meant to be a place people visited. Or lived. Or someone did live here, and didn't want to be disturbed.

Like the old man in his memory.

When he looked up again, it looked like… where he had woken up. But not. Obviously older and more shitty, but at the same time it looked… like he had been there a lot. He picked up a hunk of metal that had been bent far out of shape and wondered what it was supposed to be and why it felt familiar in his hand. When he turned his head, he saw a computer sitting innocently off to one side. A computer that didn't turn on, no matter how often he jammed his finger into the power button and slapped it, he decided. So, in other words, worthless.

He turned away from the computer, intent on moving forward. This place was important to him in some way. He would just-

The ground rumbled, and he looked up as something fell from the ceiling. No, he realized. Not something. From a widening crack, it was _dirt._

He couldn't be sure, but considering what he saw, he had a feeling another area in this place just became inaccessible. And he better move, get out of there, before he was buried as well. 

He turned to move, kicking something as he did. And not something light and small, he realized. It was… he reached down, using his hands to figure out what it was as much as his eyes. When he reached the metallic fingers at the end, perfectly articulated, he pulled his hands back. An arm. He looked around, maybe seeing a humanoid red torso in a corner, and something dark and shattered next to it.

Time to go, he decided.

Something had happened here. Something big. He didn't know what, but he had a feeling it had to do with why the last thing he remembered was telling Treble to run. But he didn't know-

The ground rumbled again. He needed to get out of there before the ceiling caved in on him too. But he didn't have any other coordinates still in his system to teleport to. He couldn't go anywhere.

Flashing lights caught his attention. He moved towards them, hoping it was a way out. When he entered yet another lab, a computer on one side flashing static, he grit his teeth. He didn't have time for this. If he had this place in his coordinates, then it was very possible Treble was here. He needed to grab Treble and run. And if Treble wasn't, he needed to get out of there anyway.

But when the static cleared, he came to a dead halt when an old man, _that_ old man's voice started talking.

"If this is being watched, then I know I lost," came the tired voice. "With any hope, it's my greatest creation watching this and taking my place. If not, then at least I had the last robot standing." The old man paused here, closing his eyes. "I never envisioned things ending like this. However-" Here, he opened his eyes again-

And the video sputtered out as the computer went dark. He slapped the monitor a few times, trying to make it work again, but it never came back on.

Last robot standing. Had that… been him? Or was it that greatest creation he was talking about? The girly haired one, Zero?

He needed to get out of there.

And then his foot kicked something solid, something that didn't move. When he reached down this time, he felt spikes, a lengthy, inhuman body, a canine muzzle-

  


* * *

  


Okay, this place was about to crumble at any point, Axl decided as he looked around, adjusting his optics to see in the low light. He needed to find SWN-001 and go. He dialled up his hearing, sharpening it as he walked carefully.

Unless the trap was to lure them into a space like this and have the ceiling collapse on them, this wasn't a trap. Even the ceiling caving in would just make them teleport back out. And it wasn't like he couldn't do that right now. Teleports weren't being blocked at all. So this couldn't be a trap. At all.

He could hear someone moving around. By how the steps were, and remembering SWN-001's body had been damaged, it _seemed_ like his quarry. Axl followed the sounds, noticing the hazards as he went. So wherever they were, it had been like… a fortress or something.

When he finally heard the footsteps come to a halt and not start up again, he dashed through the halls towards where he heard them stop. SWN-001 had finally stopped moving. Either deactivated again, or just found something to stop them long enough to find them.

But when Axl found SWN-001…

He stopped, his guns still held to the fore.

SWN-001 was holding an animaloid. Purple, canine. And he was gently stroking the animaloid's muzzle, whispering softly.

"Come on," Axl could hear. "Come on, buddy. Wake up. Treble, wake-"

Treble.

"Come on. You can do it. Wake up. Wake up, Treble…"

Axl slowly lowered his guns.

"Treble, wake up…"


	12. Chapter 12

Treble was a _dog._

Not… completely true. Treble was a canine animaloid. But still, Axl could see the tenderness SWN-001 held Treble, akin to a human holding a canine companion. And that. That changed everything.

But it didn't. SWN-001 was still a Maverick. They still needed to be taken down, retired. Axl raised his guns again, taking aim. It would be over in a matter of moments.

It didn't feel good, to curl his fingers around the triggers.

But SWN-001 raised their head before Axl could pull them, shifting to protect Treble as they held their buster up. In the low light, Axl could see SWN-001's teeth grit, and the buster shake ever so slightly. They must be at their limit, Axl thought, his fingers refusing to pull the triggers. SWN-001 must be ready to shut down again. They can't-

"Fix Treble."

Axl blinked. "You're not exactly-"

"Fix Treble!" The buster shook more at the outburst. "You don't understand. Treble's…" SWN-001's face turned towards the unresponsive canine face. "You should have run like I said," they whispered.

"And why should I listen to a Maverick?"

"I don't even know what a Maverick is," SWN-001 grumbled. "All I know is I woke up in a weird place with a lot of weird robots around me and Treble won't answer me. Damn it, Treble… you're my support unit. The old man built us to be perfect. And you-"

There was so much to unpack and Axl didn't feel like there was really time for it. He could already hear another section collapse, and it shook more dirt loose around them. He needed to take out SWN-001 now, before he got trapped under the rubble as well. But the longer he stared at SWN-001, at the anger hiding grief, at the way they held their other half-

Axl narrowed his eyes.

  


* * *

  


X stood as his inbox chirped at him, a notice from Palette that Axl had returned. The fact Axl returned wasn't the issue, but the fact the notice included him heading for Medical. What happened? Why was Axl hurt? He made his way down to Medical, expecting Zero to already be there.

Zero was not.

But Axl was, sitting on the examination table. And one arm was broken, the armour on his legs dented, and covered in a thick layer of dirt. "Axl, what-"

"Place collapsed." Axl looked down at the broken arm, wincing at how it sparked. "X… Treble's a support unit." He looked up at X, his eyes narrowed slightly. "And SWN-001 has his support unit."

X put a hand to his head. Who knew how much Treble would enhance SWN-001's abilities.

"Good thing, Treble's unresponsive. I think the dog might be completely gone. SWN-001's trying to fix Treble, but I don't think it'll work." A message popped up in X's view: Axl wanting to send a file to him. "Managed to download this from a nearby computer before the place caved in on me. Did you know SWN-001's designation is 'Bass'?"

"Bass," X murmured. Treble and Bass. "I'll look at this later. Axl-"

"Where's Zero?"

That was a good question. Where was Zero? X pinged him, frowning when Zero didn't respond. He tried again, alarm starting to build within him. Axl's face held the same alarm, as if he was trying to ping Zero as well.

"Zero doesn't just not answer," X told him. "Particularly when it's either of us."

"He couldn't have-" Axl whispered, then hopped off the table. "X. I'm going back there."

"No. You said yourself the area had collapsed. And you need repairs. I'll go."

"You can't stop me, X. I'm going." Axl shook his head as X opening his mouth. "And don't try pulling rank on me. I'm. Going."

"I don't need to pull rank." Gently, X pushed Axl, watching him scramble for balance. "You're too badly damaged, Axl."

Axl stared at him-

Then shrugged.

X blinked. It couldn't be that easy. Axl wouldn't give up that easily-

  


* * *

  


"Come on, Treble."

He had to wake up. He just had to-

His buster came up as he heard someone come close. Where he was had its rooms collapse on him several times, forcing him to move each time. The other robot had left once that room had caved in, having taken a lot of damage. And it wasn't like he wasn't hurt either. While trying to keep Treble safe, he had disabled his eyesight completely when something hit him on the head.

The sound stopped, and he readjusted his aim. He had heard it… there. But then he heard a slight whisper of sound to his right and he whipped around, trying to aim from the noise.

Silence.

Save the sound of his systems working.

Fuck it.

His buster grew warm as he fired a shot of the green fire. He couldn't tell if it had hit, or anything about it other than his buster felt like it had discharged energy, but he still fired it.

Then went very, very still as he felt a buzz of energy under his chin.

"No more running, SWN-001."

He grit his teeth. Of course it would be Zero. And Treble was still, too still, in his arms. "Fuck off."

Rumbling around them didn't shake Zero's blade. It still remained under his chin.

"Where are the rest of them?"

"The rest of who?"

"Don't play dumb," Zero said, his voice turning even colder. "The rest of Sigma's force."

"Who the hell is Sigma?"

"SWN-001-"

"That's not my name!"

Something sparked. Something in his visual.

And he heard something growl.

And it wasn't Treble.


	13. Chapter 13

X's back hit the wall, the impact registering on his systems as Axl kept a pistol trained on him. He definitely needed to stop underestimating Axl, he thought, eyes narrowed as he lifted his own buster. This isn't what he wanted to happen- But it was what was happening.

Axl pulled the trigger again, and X leapt over the bullet, raining his own buster shot down at the younger Reploid. He could hear the other Hunters scrambling to Medical, both physically and the alert screaming about the disturbance. X watched the buster shot hit Axl squarely, putting him to a knee. As he landed, his buster even with Axl's head, the still working arm holding a pistol came up, nearly touching X's helmet.

The two of them stayed like that for a moment, their overheated vents working overtime. "You're not going anywhere," X finally told him. "Stand down."

"Or what, you'll make me?" Axl shot back. "Isn't that what you're doing here? Making sure I can't follow you and Zero?"

Something about how Axl said Zero's name grabbed him in the chest. "Do you want to get yourself retired just so you can see Zero again?"

"You'd do it. Why am I different?"

Because… rust, he had been a terrible friend. Because he had seen Axl worry so much about Zero. Because Axl had seen Zero and thought he looked upset while X was caught up in everything he was doing, from helping Dr. Cain with SWN-001 - no, Bass - to trying to find Bass… with the knowledge he couldn't save them, no matter how hard he wanted to, no matter how much he wanted to help Bass… X slowly lowered his buster.

"Because if something happened to you, Zero and I couldn't handle it," he said quietly.

"And if something happens to Zero, I'll kill you."

X reached out, and his fingers gently touched Axl's helmet.

"You won't have the chance," he told him kindly.

Axl look up at him. "If something happens to you too- Zero would be angry. And I would be angry."

X nodded.

And pushed Axl over into the waiting arms of a Hunter. "Keep him restrained until Zero and I come back. Don't let him out of your sight."

He left Axl there, spluttering and trying to escape.

He had to find Zero and Bass.

  


* * *

  


Zero whipped his sabre back, cursing under his breath. Of course there would be something here, hidden under the rubble. Sigma's trap? No. The way SWN-001 reacted, pulling Treble closer, told him it couldn't be. So what was it? What had just growled?

"Heh." Zero looked over at SWN-001 as dry, humourless laughter erupted from them. "So this is how this ends. Sorry, Treble. I can't even go out fighting. Can't even see." More humourless laughter trickled out, then turned into a growl as SWN-001 put Treble down, standing up and holding their buster out. "Oh fuck that! Even if I'm not even hitting it, I refuse to just sit here and die!"

"Do you know what that was?" Zero snapped at him.

"No fucking clue. Memory issues, asshole. But that doesn't matter. I'll have to take me down. I won't just sit here and die."

Mouthy brat. "Great. Just don't get in my way."

"Don't get in _my_ way," SWN-001 shot back, grinning manically.

The light coming from SWN-001's buster as they charged it with that green fire reflected off Treble's body, painting the grin on SWN-001's in eerie shadows. Dirt rained down around them as the structure around them shuddered.

A noise came from SWN-001's feet. A loud growl.

Not Treble.

Zero dodged as something erupted out of the ground, knocking SWN-001 off their feet and into the only remaining light in the area. Night vision quickly came on, but not in time to see what was coming at him, knocking him off his feet and into the wall.

"Hey, ugly! Over here!"

SWN-001 stood, the green glow causing visual glitches in Zero's night vision. It was like the fire shouldn't be, wasn't- no, it wasn't green anymore. It was _white_ , blinding his night vision and causing his vision to static as they fired it-

  


* * *

  


Axl sighed as the now restored plating was reinstalled on his legs, looking over at the Lifesaver operating on his arm. "Don't you usually knock Hunters out for this? This itches."

"Your system doesn't respond well to someone manually shutting you down and you know it," the Lifesaver said absently. "We're not about to be tricked into that."

"Maaaan." He looked up at the ceiling. He needed to get out of here. Back there. To Zero.

"What if I shut myself down?"

"No."

Damn. He could have tricked the Lifesaver into thinking it was safe to release his restraints so his arm could be worked on easier.

"What if-"

"Axl. I need to concentrate."

He needed to get out of there. Get to Zero, to X. Make sure they were okay. Get to Bass. Kick some ass.

And instead, he was in Medical, getting worked on and not even being able to rub his eye.

"Damn it," he whispered.

The Lifesaver slowed his repairs, then stopped. "They're going to get hurt no matter what you do," he told Axl bluntly. "You know it's the nature of the job. Even if you went, you couldn't keep those two idiots from hurting themselves and us Lifesavers would only be patching up all three of you if you went. If you're lucky and you don't get scrapped because you're already injured. Now shut up and let me, and X and Zero, do our work."

"I can't just sit here," he shot back.

"You most certainly can." The Lifesaver shook his head. "Hunters," he said under his breath as he went back to the repairs. "Always too eager to get themselves scrapped."

An alarm filled Axl's screen.

Zero.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've played a Final Fantasy game (like FF14 which has eaten my soul if you're on Faerie please come say hi I'm Amarant Kalathi), the worm looks just like a Sandworm from those games. So in other words, disturbing as hell.

Zero's boots landed heavily on unsteady ground. Two metallic thuds told Zero where SWN-001 and Treble had landed. His attention didn't even linger on them as he heard the nearby wall break, and his sabre came up just as the large robotic worm lunged at his face. The beam sliced through one of the worms immense fangs, causing it to retreat. He looked over at SWN-001, his repairing night vision seeing the robot patting the floor, and pulling Treble close when they found the wolf, holding their shaking buster out as the building around them growled again.

If he left now, SWN-001 would be destroyed by the worm. Whatever its original purpose had been, it ended up burrowing around the facility, attacking anything it came across. SWN-001 couldn't tell where anything was. The only sensor SWN-001 had to detect the worm was their hearing.

If he stayed, the entire facility could come crashing down around his head.

And leaving SWN-001…

It felt strange.

With that, Zero engaged the thrusters on his boots and ducked under the worm's lunge, seizing SWN-001 and Treble. The world disappeared around him as they were pulled apart into light, escaping the facility. He kept his eyes closed as his boots touched on familiar steady ground, one knee lowering, until his optics switched from night vision, then slowly opened them as he looked up, standing.

X blinked at him.

"I was just about to follow you," X said slowly. Then, he blinked, focusing on what was in his arms. "Bass?"

"T'fuck is Bass…?" SWN-001 said, his voice synthesizer breaking into static and slurring at the same time.

X shook his head. "It's nothing." His eyes turned to Treble, frowning. Then he lifted his gaze back to Zero. "You need to go to Medical."

"I'm not hurt."

"Axl's there."

Zero blinked, instinctively holding onto SWN-001 tighter as someone came to retrieve him and Treble. He couldn't explain why… but he had to hold onto SWN-001. "What is Axl's condition?" he asked, his voice tight.

"He won't be running any missions soon, but he's fine." X turned his gaze back to SWN-001. "I should-" He shook his head. "I'll take Bass," X told Zero. "I've… been wanting to talk to him." Zero felt something sink inside him at the sad look on X's face.

SWN-001 snorted.

And Zero…

Just felt strange as he transferred SWN-001 - no, Bass - to X's arms.

Why hadn't he retired Bass?

  


* * *

  


Axl cut off mid sentence as someone entered, his head turning as the Lifesaver sighed in relief. "Finally," the Lifesaver said. "Maybe you can keep him from whining."

"Zero," Axl managed. "You look… did Bass really give you that much trouble?"

"No." Zero stood by the door, crossing his arms. "There was a complication. Axl, you-" Axl watched him shift his weight, not quite looking at him yet. "You're off active duty until your repairs are done," he finally said.

Axl rolled his eyes. "You can't- ow! _OW!_ What the fuck?" He shifted his gaze back to the Lifesaver as pulses of pain rippled from his arm. "Repairing something like this doesn't hurt this much. What the hell?"

"You have a severed nerve," the Lifesaver told him, somehow managing to keep the irritation on his face out of his voice. "If you want to hold a gun again, I have to repair it. And that's going to hurt a lot."

"Ugh." Axl's other hand twitched as more pain radiated from his arm. "Sorry, Zero. You get to see me like this."

Zero didn't answer right away, then finally looked at him.

"As long as I know you're going to be okay."

  


* * *

  


His optics blipped on, and he sighed. While he was back in _this place_ , at least now he could see what he could be shooting at. If he could shoot. Someone had the bright idea of tying him up so he couldn't do anything.

"X, if I may," he heard a human say, a slight quiver in their voice. "We shouldn't be repairing SWN-001. You saw-"

"I did," _that_ robot said, making his hands twitch. "I also know what it's like to wake up in a new time without anyone I know. Just… let me talk to Bass."

"Who's Bass?" he grumbled, tugging slightly at his restraints.

X sat down across from him. "You are," he told him gently. "Your designation is SWN-001, 'Bass.'"

"That's good to know."

He watched with some relish how X closed his eyes at the sarcasm thick in his voice. "It's hard," he started, making him (Bass? That was his name?) roll his eyes. "Waking up in a new place. Not knowing anyone around you. Not knowing if you're with friends or foes."

"Is there a point to this?" Bass looked over, seeing the purple spikes peeking over the edge of the table he sat own. "And what are you doing to do to Treble?"

X shook his head. "We aren't going to hurt Treble."

"That didn't answer my question, asshole."

"I know. To be honest, Bass… I don't know what we can do with Treble. From our preliminary tests…"

Bass closed his eyes.

"Treble's gone, isn't he. Like my memory."

"We haven't done any in-depth testing to see if his power source can be restarted but- yes. It looks like we won't be able to reactive him." Bass opened his eyes to see X biting his lower lip. "I'm sorry," came the quiet, almost heartfelt apology.

"Don't even pretend," Bass snarled, shaking his restraints. "Don't even think you know what it's like! Don't even say you know what it's like having your last memories be a battle, knowing your other half saved your life but you can't remember anything else, and finding this other half and not being able to do-" He yanked hard on his restraints. "How did you wake up? Was it nice and pretty and happy? Did you wake up alone? Did you hear over and over your last words?" Bass tried to lunge at X, not getting very far as he screamed. "Do you even think you can empathize with me you fucking sack of shit?! Do you even know anything about me and Treble?! Do you even pretend to care?!"

X sat for a moment, looking at his hands, as Bass's vents worked heavily, trying to cool off. Then, he looked up at him. "I don't know anything about you," he said simply. "But I want to learn."

"Fuck you," Bass muttered. "Fuck you, fuck-"

His eyes slid over, looking at Treble's still form again.

And something crashed over him.

He barely noticed when X pulled him into a hug as the wordless scream ripped out of his throat.


	15. Chapter 15

He had a name. Bass.

But he knew he literally had nothing else. No past, no Treble, nothing. Hell, he didn't even know why he was still alive. For some reason, Zero rescued him, and X had him repaired. It would have been too easy to put him down, considering they had him chained up. But no, he was alive. Awake. Aware. And repaired. If he stayed there, he wouldn't have a future other than at the end of a charged buster, but for some reason, they repaired him. Like they had ideas for him that weren't killing him.

Bass pulled at the chains again. Damn it. He couldn't do anything. Another scream built in his throat, but not one of wordless anger, agony, sorrow. Frustration settled into his vocal box. Fear. He hadn't felt fear before, but that's what this feeling had to be. But at the same time, he felt… tired. Drained.

Empty.

He wouldn't let anyone kill him. He wouldn't just roll over and die.

But he didn't _care._

Motion out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and Bass looked over as another robot picked up Treble gently. "Hey!" he snarled, pulling on his chains again. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? Put him down!" He tried to lunge as the robot ignored him and continued taking Treble away, but didn't get anywhere. Bass clenched and unclenched his fists, feeling them shake in rage. In how useless he felt.

Treble had saved his life. And now all he could do was watch him be taken away.

"We're going to run tests on Treble," X told him, voice horribly gentle. When Bass turned his gaze back to the other, he could see _empathy_ in his face. "Axl brought back some information. I don't want to make any promises-"

"Then don't," Bass snapped. "You don't know what you're doing."

"We have to try."

"Then what? You get Treble up and running. What are you going to do? Hunt us both down? What the _fuck_ do you want to do with us?"

X flinched slightly at that.

Bass looked down at his bound hands, flexing them. "I fucking know the only thing you can do with Treble and me is kill us. So what, is the way you do that around here is tie up the bot so it's easier?"

"No," X told him firmly. "Your reactivation-"

"Don't feed me bullshit."

"I don't like fighting or killing," X told him firmly. "I will, but after seeing so many of my friends go Maverick and fighting Sigma so many times, I'd rather find another way."

It sounded familiar and he hated it. "Then what? You're just going to keep me tied up?"

X shook his head. "We'll help you-"

"With _what?!_ " Bass interrupted him, shaking his chains again. "What are you going to help me with? You don't know anything about my programming."

"I know." The simple, quiet, almost sad words cut through Bass. "But I can't kill you."

"No." Bass started to laugh, the sound escaping his control as it turned more and more manic. "You'll just get Zero to do it!"

  


* * *

  


Someone was holding his hand. Axl blinked a few times as his systems came back online. Who was holding his hand? No one he ever knew would do that. Maybe X, if he had been nearly scrapped and almost rebuilt from scratch, but X had other things. So-

"You're awake."

Zero.

"You entered emergency recharge mode once the Lifesaver was done," he continued, and Axl couldn't help but notice he hadn't taken his hand away. "You also received a shot to boost your healing-"

"Hey Zero?" Axl slowly sat up, noticing he wasn't kept immobile now that the repairs were done. "Shut up."

For a brief moment, Zero's tensed, his hand starting to pull away.

Only for Axl to hold it tighter, the simple anchor keeping Zero in place as he leaned in. The kiss was barely more than a press of lips, but he could feel Zero's hand tighten on his. Then, gently, he felt Zero's other hand cup Axl's face. He didn't deepen the kiss - probably didn't know how, considering his directive - but Axl couldn't pull enough air into his vents at the simple touch. He didn't want to stop touching, stop _kissing_ Zero-

But when Zero finally pulled away, Axl couldn't help but laugh slightly. "I didn't think I'd ever get to-"

Zero cut him off with another kiss.

  


* * *

  


Ninth Unit was due back any moment now. X felt the tension build within him, seeking some sort of physical release. Pacing, or something of the sort. He had just stood when the report came in: massive injuries. X frantically scrolled through the report, sighing when he didn't see any casualties, but frowned when he didn't see mission success. The worm was still out there.

The best way to fight it would be to bait it to the surface, a part of X spoke up. Once it burst through the surface, it would be too easy to blast it.

And course, the best one for that job was reading the report right now and coming up with this plan.

X let his eyes narrow.

  


* * *

  


An urgent message made Axl groan, pulling back to read it. Zero frowned, his eyes showing he got the same message.

Then Axl froze.

"Why is _X_ deployed?!"

  


* * *

  


_Just a little further._

_A little longer._

_A-_

_A whine._

  


* * *

  


Something pinged.

Bass lifted his head.

And smiled.


End file.
